VP Shettima seeks sustainable global collaboration on financial inclusion

By Egena Sunday Ode

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said there is an urgent need for financial innovation to drive Nigeria’s economic and financial inclusion agenda.
This is in line with the commitment of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to bringing over 30 million unbanked Nigerians into the formal financial sector.
The Nigerian Vice President made the call during a high-level policy dialogue between the Nigerian government and private sector stakeholders held in Washington DC, the United States capital.
The initiative, which brought together government officials, regulators, law enforcement agencies, and fintech industry leaders at the George Washington University, aims to leverage innovative approaches to drive a sustainable and inclusive financial system in Nigeria.
Addressing the gathering via video conference, Vice President Shettima highlighted President Tinubu’s commitment to bringing over 30 million unbanked Nigerians into the formal financial sector in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“We must develop a sustainable collaboration approach that will facilitate the adoption of inclusive payment to achieve our objective of economic and financial inclusion,” he stated.
The dialogue focused on addressing critical challenges in Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, including regulatory oversight, security concerns, and trust issues that have hindered the widespread adoption of innovative financial solutions.
Participants explored strategies to enhance interagency collaboration and strengthen the overall effectiveness of the financial services sector.
Earlier, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, said, “While the Office of the Vice President has given priority to economic and financial inclusion, it is expected that each agency of government will continue to play their statutory role collaboratively to achieve the set objective.”